These cashew chicken lettuce wraps are the perfect balance of savory filling and fresh, crunchy lettuce! Tiny chunks of chicken thigh or breast are lightly coated in corn starch, then pan-fried to perfection. Toss the chicken in a glossy soy-sesame sauce with cashews and water chestnuts, then serve alongside fresh butter lettuce and jasmine rice to build the lettuce wraps!
I have been testing different variations of this recipe for a long time! I originally wanted to make this recipe work with ground chicken; however, I was never happy with the final texture. Dicing whole chicken breast does take a little bit longer, but I think the final result makes that effort worth it. If you really want to use ground chicken, I recommend checking out my Sweet Chili Chicken Meatballs instead, which also make great lettuce wraps!
How to Make Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the page for the full recipe.
- Trim excess fat from the chicken thighs and slice them into tiny pieces, about 1 cm in size. I recommend using a very sharp knife, and first slicing the chicken into strips.
- Season the chicken pieces all over with salt and pepper, then toss in the corn starch until fully coated.
- Mix together all the sauce ingredients and set aside (soy sauce, dark soy sauce, chicken broth, corn starch, black vinegar or rice vinegar, oyster sauce, brown sugar, and toasted sesame oil). The oyster sauce may not fully incorporate, but that's okay, it will in the pan.
- Heat a very generous pour of oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate.
- Reduce heat to medium, add the onion to the pan (with more oil as needed) and cook, tossing frequently, until it is starting to wilt. About 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds until very fragrant, then add the water chestnuts and cashews. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, tossing frequently.
- Add the cooked chicken back to the pan and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, tossing frequently.
- Add the sauce and mix everything until the sauce thickens into a glaze and coats everything, about 1-2 more minutes. Remove from heat.
- Transfer to a serving dish, then top with green onion and sesame seeds. Serve alongside prepared butter lettuce and jasmine rice for making wraps.
Key Tips - Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Use whole chicken thigh or chicken breast.
- I prefer this recipe with dark meat chicken, so I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. If desired, you can use chicken breast instead. Note, the meat may turn out a little drier, but it shouldn't be very noticeable in the final dish.
- I have not tested this exact recipe with ground chicken. I don't like the final texture of cashew chicken made with ground chicken, and prefer using diced whole chicken pieces.
Buy a "living head" of butter lettuce.
- I think that butter lettuce makes for the best lettuce wraps. I purchase whole heads of butter lettuce that come attached to their roots. One head of butter lettuce is the perfect size to pair with one batch of this cashew chicken!
The sauce can be mixed ahead of time.
- If you’re looking to prep portions of the meal in advance, mixing the sauce ahead of time is an easy way to speed up the process when you go to make the meal. The shrimp can also go through the baking soda process and then be returned to the fridge and cooked later in the day.
Check out my guide on freezing fresh garlic to save some time in the kitchen.
- If you're looking for the convenience of pre-minced garlic, but the flavor of fresh garlic, freezing your own minced garlic is a great option! You'll be surprised to find that the flavor of frozen garlic is nearly as good as fresh, without the sticky prep and clean-up. Read more about it here: How to Freeze Garlic.
Dietary Restrictions - Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps
This dish is naturally Dairy-Free.
Make it Gluten-Free.
- Most oyster sauce contains gluten. Use gluten-free oyster sauce to make this dish gluten-free. (Both Kikkoman and Lee Kum Kee brands offer a GF oyster sauce)
- Make sure you're using gluten-free soy sauce, such as tamari, if you're preparing this for someone who is highly sensitive to gluten.
A Note On Serving Sizes
Serving sizes are a very personal thing, making it difficult for me to select a serving size that suits everyone. While this is listed as 4 servings, many people would prefer to have more than one serving. I typically serve this dish as 2-3 large dinner servings or 4 small lunch servings.
Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Soy-glazed stir-fried cashew chicken made with chicken thigh or breast. Served alongside fresh butter lettuce and jasmine rice to prepare as lettuce wraps.
Ingredients
- 12–16 oz chicken thighs or breast boneless and skinless
- ¼ cup corn starch or similar, such as potato starch
- 1 8 oz can sliced water chestnuts drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cashews
- ½ large white onion diced
- 1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic use more to taste
- oil for stir-frying I use peanut oil or avocado oil
- salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
For Sauce:
- ¼ cup chicken broth or water
- 2 teaspoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon black vinegar or sub rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce optional
- 3 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
For serving:
- 1 head butter lettuce washed and leaves separated
- 3 green onions greens sliced thin
- white rice optional, I use Jasmine
- toasted sesame seeds optional, for topping
Instructions
- Trim excess fat from the chicken thighs and slice them into tiny pieces, about 1 cm in size. I recommend using a very sharp knife, and first slicing the chicken into strips.
- Season the chicken pieces all over with salt and pepper, then toss in the corn starch until fully coated.
- Mix together all the sauce ingredients and set aside. The oyster sauce may not fully incorporate, but that's okay, it will in the pan.
- Heat a very generous pour of oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate.
- Reduce heat to medium, add the onion to the pan (with more oil as needed) and cook, tossing frequently, until it is starting to wilt. About 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds until very fragrant, then add the water chestnuts and cashews. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, tossing frequently.
- Add the cooked chicken back to the pan and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, tossing frequently.
- Add the sauce and mix everything until the sauce thickens into a glaze and coats everything, about 1-2 more minutes. Remove from heat.
- Transfer to a serving dish, then top with green onion and sesame seeds. Serve alongside prepared butter lettuce and jasmine rice for making wraps.
Notes
You can substitute chicken breast instead of thigh, but the result may be a little bit drier with white meat instead of dark.
I have not tested this exact recipe with ground chicken. I don't like the final texture of cashew chicken made with ground chicken, and prefer using diced whole chicken pieces.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.25 batchCalories: 465kcalCarbohydrates: 30g
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Anonymous says
Made these last weekend and they came out amazing!! Best lettuce wraps I’ve ever had!